By Alexander

UCB ULC President

  It has long been a tradition for the Lebanese Student Association at Berkeley (LSAB) to commemorate Lebanese Independence Day by celebrating it at a Lebanese restaurant with members of the larger Lebanese community. However, this year, by the result of a near-unanimous vote, the LSAB decided to host an Independence Day Potluck on November 20, 2011, at the residence of LSAB’s member, Andrew El Khoury. Tania, president of the Stanford Lebanese Student Society, contacted Andrew before the start of the school year to inquire whether LSAB would be interested in co-hosting events with the Stanford group, and he enthusiastically agreed to the idea.

  While LSAB may have diverged from its traditional restaurant excursions across the bay, the highlight of its Independence Day Potluck was still the food. There were platters upon platters of home-made kafta, sheesh tawoo2, and sheesh kabob, delicately grilled by our very own, Chef Ramzi’s. Exquisite dishes of tabbouli, fattoush, mana2eesh, lahem bi 3ajine, garlic pasta, and even Chinese chicken salad were also served.

    Attendees then went to the roof’s deck and were marveled by the breathtaking view in the late afternoon; the sky was dark, yet the Golden Gate Bridge was brightly lit. Overlooking the bay, our group saw lights emanating from the San Francisco skyline. Rivaling the amazing view, was the dessert that was served; homemade baklava and apricot pie. One member, Lena, even went so far to bring and share knefeh with everyone! After many hours, the Stanford crew finally decided to return to Palo Alto. 

The ReCap does not end here, though! What made this event even more decisively Lebanese was what happened next. Eleven people had stayed behind to help clean up Andrew’s apartment. They decided to leave together as two of them offered car rides home for everyone. They called the elevator and for no more than a few seconds, contemplated all of them fitting together. They did fit… just barely, but didn't even question the indicated maximum capacity of 17 people for this 7' by 5' elevator. As they went in, some threw out a few jokes – “aw, guys, this is sweet; we're going to get stuck just as if we were in Lebanon." And lo and behold, the elevator stopped moving a few seconds later. They weren't rescued until an hour later, but that hour was, needless to say, an entertaining one.

  It started with a phone call to the host of the potluck, who immediately, after hanging up, posted a Facebook status saying, "It's not a real LSAB party until ten [idiots] take the elevator together and get stuck." The laughs continued through BBM messages from the one person who took the stairs, but after 20 minutes with no progress, a few people started getting claustrophobic. Ironically, one of them was from Batroun (arguably one of the most claustrophobic cities in all of Lebanon); inevitably, the best way to keep her strong was to remind her, "you're a Batrouni; you're stronger than this." These members eventually took it in their hands to call 911, and after a short period of time, two fire trucks arrived at the scene. The firefighters showed no restraint in their lecture to the group about common sense.

  Overall, it was an amazing experience for everyone to be meet even more Lebanese in the area and expand networks. Everyone was able to overlook the negative aspects of their university rivalry and come to realize that they all are part of a larger Lebanese family in the Bay Area. Berkeley and Stanford members unanimously agreed that they would love to see this event become a tradition between the schools, and both ULCs look forward to the upcoming Berkeley Lebanese Coffee Hour in January 2012.  

Learn more about the Lebanese Student Association at Berkeley at www.lsab.com